Highlights

Description of Kerala birdwatching holidays, Western Ghats

If you really want to experience a wilder, more natural, side to Kerala, birdwatching holidays in the Western Ghats open up a series of rainforest habitats teeming with bird species, around 24 of which are endemic to southern India.

From lowland rainforest areas to the montane forests, found higher up the Western Ghats, Kerala birdwatching holidays take you into the most incredible environments considered by BirdLife International to be some of the most important endemic birding spots in the whole of the region.

This particular week-long Kerala birdwatching holiday in the Western Ghats has been created purely with the region's indigenous species in mind as well as taking in hundreds of other species that make, what is, an exceptionally narrow location, an absolute birdwatching hot spot.

Featuring trips into the steeper terrain of Munar and Ooty as well as Thattekkad bird sanctuary, the tiger reserve at Periyar, Eravikulam National Park and the nearby Bodi Ghats, this Kerala birdwatching holiday really is an incredible experience, not to be missed by bird lovers and responsible travellers alike.

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Departure information

This trip can also be tailor-made to suit your interests, time schedules and budget requirements.

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Responsible tourism

Responsible tourism: Kerala birdwatching holidays, Western Ghats

All parks in this region have Eco Development Committees and Forest Protection Teams employed in tourism related work and arranging all wildlife programmes for tourists. So when one enters the park & takes part in safaris or treks in the park, the proceeds of such activities go to the local communities directly and almost in full.

By employing local birding guides at Thattekkad and by staying at environmentally low impact accommodation like the Hornbill Camp, we hope to bring in awareness about Responsible Tourism among the general public. Hornbill Camp is made of locally available materials and constructed exclusively by using locally available expertise in reed leaf thatching . There is very little concrete used, instead tents are used and more importantly only maximum of 2 kva electricity is used in the camp. The water is heated using solar heaters and the kitchen refuse is recycled for use in the spice plantations nearby.

We always employ local drivers during all our tours. Our supplies like vegetables and poultry are always sourced from villagers residing near the camp & we promote local businesses by using local jeeps and locally owned wooden canoes for moving on the river, whenever possible.

We always believe in small groups of maximum 6 persons to reduce impacting on the ‘carrying capacity’ of the region they are passing through. Our strict policy of Leave No Trace helps protect the environment and is an example to the locals by removing all waste from place to place.

9 Reviews of Kerala birdwatching holidays, Western Ghats

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Reviewed on 12 Dec 2016 by Christopher Smith

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Too many! Walking through tea plantation at Munnar, beautiful forest walks near Periyar, evening kayaking in lagoon near Hornbill Camp, exceptional food and service at Periyar River Lodge, close up views of Trogons, walking close to wild elephants in the jungle, the sheer beauty of the Western Ghats and the small quiet roads used by our guide between Munnar and Periyar and later from Periyar to Hornbill Camp. We also enjoyed our end of tour kayaking in the Backwaters, though had expected more time in the small canals rather than the wide waterways ( though I suspect that there are simply not enough navigeable small canals).

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Some may consider Indian driving exhilarating, others may find it alarming. If you belong to the latter category, tell your driver at the airport that you suffer from car sickness. This will ensure a more leisurely drive; not only will you travel more comfortably, you will also have more time to appreciate the surroundings. In Kerala many hotels and homestays do not have an alcohol license. If you enjoy a beer at the end of the day, ask your guide to but in some stock so as to avoid disappointment. Read up on the byzantine tipping rules before you go; tipping was the most annoying part of the holiday and unfortunately the guides refused to give any advice as to whom to tip and how much. We stayed at different categories and the rules never seemed to be the same.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Everyone involved was local, so to that extent yes. I have no way of passing judgment on environmental impacts.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

The organisation of the holiday was fantastically efficient. Thomas at Head Office responded very rapidly to all emails, and the various transfers and handovers took place perfectly, with no waiting time. Thomas must be a superb Manager to achieve such efficiency. The 3 guides used were charming and friendly. Peter was an excellent and enthusiastic bird guide who went out of his way to ensure that we saw as many species as possible. We were really surprised at the geography of inland Kerala: so green, such stunningly beautiful landscapes, so many rivers and waterfalls. The tea plantations are photogenic in a very special way: so impossibly green in the sun. Walking in the forests near Periyar was like being in heaven: in the shade, beautiful birds, no other people around and with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. All the local people that we met were so genuinely friendly that I rather felt that they put western Civilisation to shame!!

Reviewed on 29 Nov 2016 by Christopher Wyeth

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Having experienced Northern India we were amazed at how different Kerala was. So much greener and less busy. The holiday could not have gone any smoother and our thanks to Thomas for recommending the wonderful Graman Homestay for a break before our bird watching trip began. We more or less just sat in the garden and relaxed whilst Jos and his wife looked after us and gave us some wonderful food. Different Kerala dishes every day.

Our bird guide Peter was so friendly and knowledgable and not to mention a great driver. We saw a total of more than bird 170 species and several mammals.Peter not only was a great bird guide but also told us lots about Keralan culture and history including a visit to a tea museum in Munnar.

After the bird tour we stayed for three nights at the Organic Farm of Dewakolam. This was also a great palce to stay, the food was all sourced from the farm and we had tours of a rubber plantation, village, and waterfall which were all included. Finally we went on an overnight houseboat trip from Aleppy which was very relaxing. The crew gave us very nice food and took us on a walk when we moored for the night. As the boat tour finished at 9am and our flight was not until the evening, Peter arranged for us to stay in an airport hotel for the afternoon. It is touches like this that make a holiday.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

If possible do as we did and spend some time before and after the bird watching tour in a homestay or small hotel. Gramam and Dewakolam.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Yes. We always try to book our holidays with local companies.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Fantastic and exceeded expectations.

Reviewed on 30 Mar 2015 by Moyra Williams

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Many memorable parts - wonderful bird watching trips, cycling in the backwaters, relaxing and enjoying the Keralan food and scenery.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Yes, at several of the places where we stayed it was clear that the owners were active in sustaining the environment and supporting the livelihood of local people.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Excellent. We would thoroughly recommend the tour company, both for the planning and organization and for the expertise, enthusiasm and patience of our driver/bird guide Peter.

Reviewed on 09 Mar 2015 by Luis Mario Arce

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The trip has fulfilled my expectations. It was a trip focused on endemic birds from Western Ghats and I got 17 from a total of 18 possible species. It's a big success. The total list raised to 214 species, a high number to an 8 days trip.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

It's a highly recommendable trip. Excellent birding and other wildlife, scenic landscapes, very nice accommodation and an excellent guiding.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Yes, all the organizational aspects are linked to local people and resoruces, and very concerned about conservation

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

It has been one of the best birding holidays I haver ever been on. I'm seriously thinking to come back to India with the same company. I'd like to remark the excellent work of Peter as a guide, he's a fine birding guide and a very concerned tour leader about well-being of the clients.

Reviewed on 12 Feb 2015 by Henrietta Soffe

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

A magnificent tally of endemic birds! This was a birdwatching tour so we hoped and expected to see a number of new birds but our excellent guide provided an enormous list.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Make sure you take with you or buy at Duty Free a good supply of alcohol - Kerala is trying to go 'dry' and despite advice from our tour operator that there would be 'hundreds' of government liquor stores en route, our time in this state was bugged by a national strike, a mysterious public holiday (not realised by our guide or driver) and yet another closed day for the govt liquor stores being the 1st of the month! Only 5-star hotels still have liquor licences/bars and the others which cannot afford the licences but do sell beer bump up the costs by 350% to cover their costs/profits BUT tourists staying in these accommodations are only permitted to drink alcohol behind the closed doors of their rooms. Not a pleasant holiday experience. When crossing to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, privately owned liquor stores were available selling at greatly reduced prices - eg local Indian Elite red wine cost Rs 500 to Rs 800 in Kerala but only Rs 200 in Karnataka and Rs 1900 in a hotel!! No wonder so many tourists are cancelling holidays to southern India - we met many dissatisfied clients along the way including Brits, Canadians, Swedes, Americans etc.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Yes by providing jobs in home-stays and hotels. In two areas the local parks were closed - one was permanently closed to tourists and the second was shut for months for the wild goat breeding period. Not what we expected.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Some accommodation provided on the tour was way below expectations - in fact, rather reminiscent of hotels in Africa during the 70s! Abad Green Forest in Thekkady was by far the best room (and everything in the room actually worked) and also for food and service. Also of a very high standard was the Jungle Hut at Masinagudi - professional, attentive owners, very clean, fantastic food and surrounded by wildlife. Positively the worst was The Monarch in Ooty - dreadful room, dirty towels, plugs which fell off the walls and simply awful food. The remainder all had loads of items which didn't work and which hadn't been repaired in years. Come on India ...

Read the operator's response here:

Many thanks for your Review. We are happy that you had a wonderful birding tour with our company.

The other point you raised about alcohol regrettably are purely within the administrative control of the state Government of Kerala and as such we are helpless in sorting those out. We do hope that you write to the Government of Kerala to review this policy for tourists.

Similarly, we feel that the comments on hotels are rather subjective and do hope that you put the comments about these hotels on sites such as Trip Advisor which would help future travellers.

Reviewed on 29 May 2013 by Keith Pigdon

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Getting away from cities to the real Southern India in Kerala & Tamil Nadu. Seeing lots of birds and other wild fauna & flora, and having such knowledgeable people as our guide Jijo and driver who could name anything we wanted to identify and tell us about life, work and cultural practices in the region.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Thomas, our agent thoroughly understood our needs and what was really wanted out of a trip. He suggested a last minute adjustment to our accommodation in one region due to the unseasonably hot weather conditions and that proved to be excellent advice. He did this by text message a week before we arrived and whilst we were travelling in Sri Lanka. Be sure to let the operator know your circumstances and your needs.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

We used the expertise of many local guides and stayed in many small family run accommodation settings.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

It was a wonderful, enjoyable experience that we have recommended to many others.

Reviewed on 01 Dec 2013 by Dianne Reidy

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The National Parks in the Western Ghats - Munnar and Periyar.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

The smaller the group the better - no more than 4 people. We were just two and found we had much better opportunities to see the birds than the larger groups we encountered.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Yes, all of the above.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

It was really an excellent experience despite some change of plans due to a strike (which I believe are common in Kerala). We were well looked after by a great driver/guide, Peter. He was ever cheerful and patient when one of us was a bit slow and tried hard to meet the high expectations of the other. We had some really good sightings of rare species.

Reviewed on 07 Nov 2013 by Sue Swan

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Seeing birds, some at close range and the beautiful scenery of Munnar and Thattekad. At Hornbill Camp being joined by staff members with binoculars and cameras whenever a birding opportunity arose. A great chance to share our enjoyment with local people.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Climate can vary dramatically between Thattekad and Munnar so bring clothes for hot and sweaty as well as cold at night and in misty highland conditions. Walking boots useful as are leech socks if you have them! Otherwise relax and enjoy as everything is very well organised.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Hornbill Camp was comfortable but had minimum negative impact on the environment.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Excellent holiday mainly thanks to our guide Peter, who was always professional, punctual, knowledgable and best of all, very enthusiastic and determined to find all the birds possible. We could never have spotted so many without him. Peter always went at our pace and took good care of us.

Reviewed on 20 Feb 2010 by Janet Rowe

We loved Kerala and hope very much to visit again. Everyone we met were friendly and welcoming, and all arrangements made by the tour operator went very smoothly. We were very well looked after by our driver and guide, and had some excellent walks seeing many endemic and other bird species. Food delicious. We were very comfortable at the Hornbill Camp although, be warned, the beds are very firm. Olive Brook - lovely small hotel, wonderful views, very comfortable rooms, personal service and very good food.